Seth Godin Found “People Like Us”, and What They Really Want

Traditionally, marketing outcomes were measured by viewing the company’s ROI. This world determined if a certain campaign had an impact on our audience that resulted in a simple form of currency — money. Not anymore, today we excavate for a much rarer form of capital — emotional currency.

Look around you, everybody wants to fit in. Even the notorious revolutionaries of NYC want to be recognized as part of the unorthodox group. It is in our nature. As social creatures, our behaviors as well as our purchasing decisions are motivated by what others would think of us and how we think of ourselves.

In his article, modern marketing guru, Seth Godin, speaks about how present-day marketers should ask themselves the questions of “who is the product for?” and “why should my consumers speak of me?”, as early as during the designing stage of a product. I agree with the approach of personalizing products to a smaller group. For us to earn the trust and loyalty of a certain group, we must offer a service or product that brings a new emotional value to it.

A real-world marketer is required to be agile, constantly testing, failing, and experimenting. he must be sensitive to ongoing changes in his market. Persistently gathering feedback is crucial to improve the interaction with “people like you”. Because the consumer’s values and perceptions constantly change in real time, it requires a strategic vision, as well as short, medium, and long-term marketing planning if we wish to remain competitive, relevant, and most importantly — profitable.